December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Digital Cash application
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:53 PM 6/19/96 -0400, Declan B. McCullagh wrote: >Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 19-Jun-96 Re: Digital Cash >application by jim bell(a)pacifier.com >> It seems to me that since paying people funds that were stolen from them >> would produce good publicity, which by definition could be argued to be >> spending it on the campaign. Sure, it's a non-traditional tactic, but that >> doesn't mean it's in violation of the campaign law. They could also email >> along a set of libertarian literature, and the recipient would certify that >> he would promote the libertarian cause and work for the election of the >> candidate, etc, etc. > >Jim: I've worked on a presidential campaign before and can tell you that >if the FEC is likely to consider something a violation, the campaign is >not going to skirt the line. > >That said, perhaps the law is outdated and needs to be changed. The following two paragraphs were sent to me by a person familiar with Oregon Libertarian politics over the last 15 years: "Good idea. Something like this was done in the early '80's in Oregon. There was a $1 checkoff to the political party of one's choice on the Oregon income tax form, and the LPO was the recipient of a grand or so of money stolen from taxpayers. Gary Chipman came up with the idea of sending $1 bills to LPO members and registered Oregon libertarians with a fundraising letter touting us as the only party that would really give them their money back." "Interestingly, the mailing raised more in donations than it cost in stolen money and postage, and got us good press too. The legislature promptly abolished the checkoff during their next session." [end of quote] There may be a CLUE here: Laws and regulations tend to be written based on what the writer can imagine, and are updated based on what has happened. We can probably agree that "standard" (non-libertarian) politics would not have anticipated such an idea, and moreover you can also suppose that 20+ years of D's and R's politics would not have resulted in an example of such a tactic being used. Thus, there is no obvious reason to believe that this kind of tactic would have already been prohibited. We can agree that D's and R's won't like it, as is obvious from what the Oregon legislature did, but rather than merely presume that it is illegal, why not take the position that unless it is clearly outlawed, then it must be considered a legal tactic? It would be a valid goal to eliminate the system, as it apparently did in Oregon. Don't give up before the race. Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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HUS_tle
by jya＠pipeline.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

6-20-96. NYP: "Counterfeiters of a New Stripe Give Japan One More Worry." The pachinko caper echoes far beyond Japan, serving as a cautionary tale as the world moves toward digital cash, with money reduced to ones and zeros on a card or in a computer. It could be far easier to manipulate computer codes than to rob a bank or create counterfeit bills. "This is a tip-of-the-iceberg problem," said Peter G. Neumann, a computer security hustler at SRI. "You are going to put a lot of money out there and someone is going to figure out how to take it away from you." "Electronic money, digital cash, the Internet -- it's so convenient and so many people envision a dreamy future," another sec-hawker drooled. "But once you consider the security, it's quite vulnerable." http://pwp.usa.pipeline.com/~jya/hustle.txt (12 kb) HUS_tle

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Anything is Possible
by David Rosoff 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On 17 Jun 96 at 17:21, "M.Wagoner" (safemail(a)ntrnet.net) wrote: > We would like someone to be able or should I say try and crack our > encryption. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. Mmm hmm. Sure. And the Titanic was unsinkable, except for that damned iceberg. And does anyone remember the great train robbery of Britain? I could go on forever. There are no absolutes, especially in cryptography. I would be willing to bet that the Safe Mail execs encrypt their company mail with PGP. Maybe some day, in my spare five minutes, I'll crack it - but I'll have to be really damn bored. And why would I bother - you've already proven its fault. =============================================================================== David Rosoff (nihongo o chiisaku dekimasu) -------------> drosoff(a)arc.unm.edu For PGP key 0xD37692F9, finger drosoff(a)acoma.arc.unm.edu or get from keyservers pub 1024/D37692F9 1995/07/01 David Rosoff <drosoff(a)arc.unm.edu> Key fingerprint = 25 7D AA 01 85 41 43 89 50 5A 33 76 F1 F1 99 67 I accept anonymous mail. If I didn't sign it, you don't know I wrote it. === "Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find-- and not to yield." <---- "Ulysses", by Alfred, Lord Tennyson -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMcjB7RguzHDTdpL5AQFW1AP/T2a2v2PSL2yMKsMZUtsSptCUZ1+peQ2y Wuk0dB+qyUU+of2dDv1XR/P+SQ5Q5YsOPOtZSocZIF2cKDuDG5sLreHoCDwlApZD CFHQd1RtrTPFq4btd5QGK6w0gGcR/vkrfk8x1yZd+1UfPIrOUKRBXcnDUZqwWKFu qCOuvCkGNmY= =+98t -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Does information want to be free?
by jamesd＠echeque.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 05:26 PM 6/16/96 -0400, Joseph M. Reagle Jr. wrote: > If someone found out all the medical information of cypherpunks list > members and distributed about the Net, how would people feel? It would worry me far less than the fact that my medical records are accessible to the government. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Matching funds
by tonie＠efn.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In 1996, the Libertarian Party will apparently qualify for Federal matching >>>funds for its Presidential political campaign. That does not mean that it >>>will _accept_ them, being stolen goods. However, a few years ago I heard of >>>an idea that they should accept the money, and return it to the people, a >>>small amount at a time, to whomever asks for it. Besides returning the >>>stolen money to its rightful owners, that would produce substantial positive >>>publicity for the Libertarian party, embarrassment for the Democrats and >>>Republicans, while at the same time reducing the amount of money available >>>for the D's and the R's. >>> >>> You can buy a helluva lot more publicity with the matching funds. I'm not advocating this, just pointing it out. Tonie

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Re: Federal Key Registration Agency
by William Knowles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Wed, 19 Jun 1996, Igor Chudov wondered: >Lucky Green wrote: > At 16:27 6/18/96, TM Peters wrote: > >Speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Reno said > >her plan would require people to register with the new agency the secret > >codes -- or "keys" -- they use to encrypt messages online. > >: The cat is out of the bag. Janet Reno is calling for mandatory Government >: Access to Keys. Not that her statement would surprise anyone on this list. >: Still, I believe the administration has never before publicly stated that >: people will be _required_ to deposit their encryption keys with the >: government. I wonder what the penalties for failure to comply with this >: requirement will be. > A couple of questions [admittedly, I am not the best expect in American > politics]: > 1) Is there anything real that individual citizens can do? Keep your PGP262.zip disks in ziplock bags and cache them in the backyard, forests,The golf courses. Get a GPS location and escrow the locations with with trusted friends using Secret Share. Payout to Jim Bell's AP service. Move to Canada? William Knowles erehwon(a)c2.org Finger for public key -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMcke1AURbnwsNLz5AQHmMQQA2TFznKaMSM9uayXkvpcq/SsYg1hLnNKW 4v+NKSAVoDSGyn96VPxH1zEDP+dHk2MS173ocIUcaCm3VzRbBp6qnukAzTjGxjns PVFFS5dsicx+wR4LFxWhUy/7fjvP6BUTLUwPvQGuXZyh8jof1uuL8FYXPtku6tSG a78TvfAgknU= =IZFJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Federal key registration agency
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:48 PM 6/19/96 -0500, ichudov(a)algebra.com (Igor Chudov) wrote: >A couple of questions [admittedly, I am not the best expect in American >politics]: >1) Is there anything real that individual citizens can do? Agitate - it worked well when Clipper first came out. Write code to do things regular people want to do, so that they'll be trying to ban existing material instead of new material, and so people will get used to using encryption. PGP is nice, but imagine if everyone who used Netscape had windows popping up that said "Encrypting your message to $RECIPIENT. Cc: to the FBI? [Yes] [No]" >2) Would it be helpful to kick democrats out of office and replace >them with republicans? In other words, are republicans any better >than democrats in respecting citizens' right to protecting their >privacy from the government? Remember that the Clipper initiative and development started during the Presidency of ex-CIA-director and all-around sleazemeister George Bush. You could say it was dumb luck that it came out during Clinton's watch, so he got the credit/blame, but the folks who are pushing it have the political savvy to know they'd have far less luck with a lame-duck Bush proposal during a Clinton "Reinventing Government" than by waiting until Clinton's securely in office, giving him some credit, and having the Republicans who were around when it started supporting them as well. [Or they could have expected Bush to be re-elected, and figured announcing it before the election wouldn't help. Or the product could have just been late :-)] Not much difference; if anything, Democrats are usually more in favor of free speech than Republicans, and would be more likely to oppose it. They're both a pretty sad lot, though there are occasional Congresscritters who sometimes get it. Now, kicking out Democrats and Republicans and replacing them with Libertarians, Perotistas, Greens, or even Reds would have a positive effect, at least for a little while, but that's a bit more work. :-) # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs # Dispel Authority!

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Take the money, Harry.
by tonie＠efn.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Jim, Harry should take the money. As Ayn Rand said, "Don't let your morality be used against you." I believe in the philosophy of law. As long as it's legal, each person can take whatever he is legally entitled to from the government's stolen money, as long as he/she doesn't ADVOCATE that the coercive tax system be retained. Many will not take grants, or welfare, but they are legally entitled to it. As for the moral entitlement, that is a matter for them to work out for themselves. After all, we have to drive on government (tax supported) roads, etc. Tonie

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Congress is at it again
by nobody＠vegas.gateway.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

HOME RECORDING RIGHTS COALITION ALERT !! IMMINENT CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON NII COPYRIGHT BILL THREATENS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property will meet in the next few days to vote on H.R. 2441, the "NII Copyright Protection Act." If you or your business are in the congressional district of one of the Members of Congress listed below, please call the Subcommittee member who represents you NOW. Tell his office that this badly imbalanced bill shouldn't be voted on unless and until the following problem is addressed. If passed in its current form, H.R. 2441 would: o make it a crime to manufacture the next generation of VCRs, personal computers and other digital devices needed for recreational and educational use by adding a sweeping and overbroad new Section 1201 to the Copyright Act. If you need more information, check out the HRRC home page at http://www.access.digex.net/~hrrc/ or call toll free 1-800-282-8273. ACTION NEEDED NOW!!! Please immediately prepare a letter to send (use the draft letter below as a model) - keep it short. --AND CALL -- the Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property who represents you (see list). These contacts must be made NO LATER THAN Tuesday, June 18, and preferably sooner. In addition, please forward this alert on to your friends and colleagues. Please address all letters as indicated in the list below to Washington, DC 20515. All phone and fax (f) numbers are area code (202): The Honorable Carlos Moorhead R-CA 2346 RHOB 225-4176 f:226-1279 The Honorable James Sensenbrenner R-WI 2332 RHOB 225-5101 f:225-3190 The Honorable George Gekas R-PA 2410 RHOB 225-4315 f: 225-8440 The Honorable Howard Coble R-NC 403 CHOB 225-3065 f:225-8611 The Honorable Elton Gallegly R-CA 2441 RHOB 225-5811 f:225-1100 The Honorable Charles Canady R-FL 1222 LHOB 225-1252 f:225-2279 The Honorable Bob Goodlatte R-NC 123 CHOB 225-5431 f: 225-9681 The Honorable Martin Hoke R-OH 212 CHOB 225-5871 f:226-0994 The Honorable Sonny Bono R-CA 512 CHOB 225-5330 f:225-2961 The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. D-MI 2426 RHOB 225-5126 f:225-0072 The Honorable Patricia Schroeder D-CO 2307 RHOB 225-4431 f:225-5842 The Honorable Howard Berman D-CA 2231 RHOB 225-4695 f:225-5279 The Honorable Rick Boucher D-VA 2245 RHOB 225-3861 f:225-0442 The Honorable Jerry Nadler D-NY 109 CHOB 225-5635 f:225-6923 The Honorable Xavier Becerra D-CA 1119 LHOB 225-6235 f:225-2202 SAMPLE LETTER The Honorable Address Washington, DC 20515 Dear Rep. ____________: I have learned that Section 1201 of the NII Copyright Protection Act (H.R. 2441) could take away my right to use new digital video technology for my personal recording. It also could delay or even prevent these new products from being available to consumers. If I record television programs, I do it for my personal use and convenience. The Supreme Court's "Betamax" decision confirmed my right to do this. Section 1201 will change the current law so that I may not be able to do this in the future with new digital video products. I understand that a House subcommittee vote on this bill is planned for next week. I realize that the copyright issue is complex, but please remember to protect my rights as a consumer. I hope you will vote against H.R. 2441 as drafted. Will you please let me know your position on this issue? Sincerely, YOUR NAME Thank you.

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Re: Safemail
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:10 PM 6/19/96 CDT, Daniel R. Oelke wrote: >He did assure me it wasn't GOST, or anything published. >Story was that a Russian emigrant (sp?) came over to the US >and this is his algorithm. Apparently this person is >not willing (at this time) to put the algorithm out for >public review. "Howdy. Since I just met you in this bar and really like you I wanted to tell you about this Russian sailor I met. His ship is in port for only a few more hours and he has all these Russian gold coins that he wants to sell. Now you know he can't sell the coins in those commie countries so he's so desperate for cash that he'll sell them for just $100 an ounce. I've got $5,000 right here in this envelope why don't you take $5,000 out of your bank and we'll meet him and make some fast dough." I think that sailor has a great new secret algorithm as well. DCF

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